Chapter 6. What is going wrong? 150. Despite all the investment - both public and private - and the widespread acknowledgement of the priority that should be accorded to improving skills, there are areas of the country where the number of people who lack essential work-related or basic skills is very high - and where there is often little hope in sight. Why have the current arrangements failed them? 151. The PAT believes that there are three main reasons why this situation persists: a) for a variety of complex reasons, the education and training system is not adequately addressing the needs of socially disadvantaged adults; b) local capacity to develop initiatives is usually weak and, as a result, local involvement in and ownership of learning activities equally so; c) residents of socially disadvantaged areas believe they have nothing to gain from improving their skills and that, no matter what they learn, it will make no difference to their prospects, in the labour market or more generally. The education and training system 152. The education and training system employs a large number of highly qualified people. There are educational institutions in every community in the country. Many of them have an avowed mission to help the socially disadvantaged and there is a long and honourable tradition of education, including adult education, playing a critical role in widening horizons and opportunities for socially disadvantaged people. 153. Yet, in our four study areas, we felt there was often a disturbing lack of connection between educational institutions and some of the local communities they exist to serve. In many places, local people simply did not believe the institutions - schools, colleges and universities - had anything useful to offer them or were genuinely interested in helping them. Cynicism and mistrust is often a strong feature of communities that have experienced several regeneration initiatives which have apparently resulted in little effective change. Depressingly, the lack of connection that results sometimes co-existed with a good deal of excellent work, innovative thinking and good intentions on both sides. 154. More provision in educational institutions is not the only or even always the best way to help socially disadvantaged adults to learn. But, even where learning takes place outside an institutional context, institutions can have a vital role to play as providers of outreach, resources, expertise and support for learners and for community organisations involved in delivering more informal learning programmes. In addition, of course, where those programmes have been effective, they should lead to more formal institutional provision, as people acquire more and better qualifications. So establishing or re-establishing connections between socially disadvantaged people and local educational institutions is critical. Compulsory education 155. By the time they reach the age of 16, young people have spent at least eleven years in the compulsory education system. Yet in socially disadvantaged areas, large numbers of people continue to leave school with significant literacy or numeracy problems, with no or very few qualifications and with little notion of what role they might play in the labour market or of how they might access it. 156. Many young people have effectively disengaged from the compulsory education system before the age of 16. Non-attendance of course makes a significant contribution to poor attainment. But, whatever the reasons, a poor experience of school often leaves adults disinclined ever to learn again, especially if they continue to associate learning with a formal, institutional environment from which they feel themselves to have benefited so little and which they see as essentially irrelevant to their real problems. In Hemsworth, for example, education is often not valued for its own sake as it is in, for example, the former Welsh coalfield; and school results are below both local and national averages. "[There is a] need to accept that many of those who most need "education and training" have a natural and understandable resistance to anything that comes labelled as education or training. This is related to their (often correct) perception that either: the education I already had didn't work for me why should more education do me any more good? or what is the point of developing skills if unemployment levels are such that I have little chance of a worthwhile job even when I have the skills or employers "out there" are so prejudiced against people "from in here" that I will stand little chance of either employment or preferment by a really good company or some combination of these." (Website comment) 157. The Government has put in place a number of policies aimed at improving the quality of education in socially disadvantaged areas and targeted particularly at improving literacy. It will nevertheless be many years before the effects of those policies are fully evident in the population of working age. 158. That these policies should work is obviously critical if, in the long-term, adults in disadvantaged areas are to develop the skills they need. We have made no attempt to assess how best schools might take these forward in disadvantaged areas, as that task falls to the separate "Schools Plus" PAT. 159. Members of the PAT felt, nevertheless, that they should draw attention to one very important task for schools in the areas we looked at. People in these areas - particularly those in the former coalfield - often feel that their schooling has little relevance to the world of work. In addition, because they live in communities which are still very insular, they often feel little sense of connection with the world outside and can consequently lack enterprise and confidence in seeking opportunities at any distance from their home. Typical travel-to-work distances in Hemsworth, for example, are small; we were repeatedly told that Leeds - 20 miles away and served by good public transport links - was too far away for people to travel to for work or learning. 160. These attitudes are part of the town's heritage from the past. The PAT felt that, if they are to be overcome, allowing young people access to a wider range of opportunities than their parents, that a sustained effort will be required in local schools. For these reasons, work in schools on education-business links is the subject of a separate recommendation (see recommendation 8). Access 161. Many people in socially disadvantaged areas say they want to become involved in learning and to improve their skills but, for a wide variety of reasons, feel unable to do so. The reasons most frequently quoted to us were: the lack of suitable courses; the direct costs of courses, which are often cited as an obstacle, even though for many of the people concerned they are in practice free; the cost and practical difficulties of arranging childcare; the costs of transport and the absence of adequate public transport links. This can be a serious problem in urban as well as in more rural areas like Peterlee and its neighbouring villages. For example, the absence of good tube access in Hackney was frequently cited as an obstacle to adult participation in learning in the borough; the need to forego income to engage in learning. We were given a poignant illustration of this by the college at Peterlee, who say that their drop-out rate among adults rises sharply in December, as people take up temporary work so that they can afford a family Christmas; fear of losing benefit, whether well-founded or otherwise; inflexible opening hours at college - a particular problem for people with family or caring commitments; "training should be [at] a time and at a venue which is comfortable for the residents, NOT one which is easy for the formal education and training providers." (Website comment) people do not always know what is on offer; when they do know what is available, they sometimes find it hard to make sense of what the options for them might be and to relate them to their own circumstances. 162. We believe there are a range of other obstacles which people are less willing to cite, for example: for many people who have not been involved in any learning since school, educational institutions can be intimidating places. A community development worker who had returned to learning after having her children told us that, in her first few weeks in college, she had frequently felt physically sick as she approached the college gates. 163. We saw a range of interesting and imaginative measures which providers had adopted in an attempt to overcome these obstacles. For example, East Durham Community College offers new students a cash bursary as an incentive to enrol; a number of other providers seek to offer learning to socially disadvantaged people in settings with which they will feel comfortable and familiar 164. The best practice we saw, however, was where providers had sought systematically to analyse and address the obstacles that local people faced. We believe that much the most important of these is location. Attending an institution that is distant from where they live can create problems for residents of socially disadvantaged areas that are simultaneously financial, cultural and logistical. We were told in Hackney, for example, that the recent rationalisation of the college into a smaller number of much more modern buildings had created access difficulties for some residents. Even if there are public transport links, people may not be able to afford to use them, while travelling to the other side of the city in which they live may be asking too much of people who lack self-confidence. 165. There are a number of different ways in which learning can be effectively delivered in community settings, including through "outreach" work. We saw a number of interesting "one-off" examples in our fieldwork, including a laptop IT project run by Northern College but delivered in the Alpha Working Men's Club in downtown Hemsworth. "Adults do NOT wish to enter a building where they have to fight their way through young people smoking on the steps. The venue could be a pub, community centre, café, health centre or anywhere they will feel comfortable entering and as unlike school as possible." (Website comment) 166. We believe that such work is most effective, however, where it is provided in a setting: with which local people genuinely identify, but which offers a wide range of opportunities and which is sufficiently large and well-resourced - and effectively connected to other work and learning opportunities - to offer real prospects of progression from the activity which initially engaged local people's interests to further learning and the labour market. Hulme Adult Education Centre A community-based video and drama project run from Hulme Adult Education Centre has been very successful in bridging the gap between the local community and progression to employment and higher education. The project makes productions in and about the local scene, dealing with issues of interest to people like drugs, violence, etc. "Recruitment" is largely by word of mouth by the tutor (who is local) and his students, or local showings which attract a big audience because people know people who have worked on the productions or have seen filming going on. Potential participants are allowed up to 3 months "visiting time" to dip in and out before committing themselves formally to a course. Pass rates are good and local people have gone on to Universities (mainly around Manchester) to pursue the subject - not people who previously thought of themselves as destined for HE. Job placing rates are also good. The project has built good relations with, and made programmes for, Granada TV (geographically close) and BBC (it contributed to the Windrush series last year). But even this project is facing problems because they need to update to digital equipment and do not know where they might get the capital funding from. East Leeds Family Learning Centre East Leeds Family Learning Centre is a community organisation located in a part of the city where residents are subject to severe and multiple educational and social disadvantage. It helps residents progress into education, training and employment by helping them improve their skills in a local and familiar setting. Free child care is available for daytime courses. Much of the centre's work is strongly focused on the labour market; it offers a "Key Skills" unit in association with local companies like Elida Faberge and Halifax Direct. It also organises a very successful Jobs Fair with Sainsbury's the Burton Group and others in the heart of one of the most disadvantaged areas in Leeds. The Centre also offers courses in "softer" subjects like aromatherapy and gardening. The key is to offer adults something which initially engages their interests and which gets them involved in the work of the Centre. A comprehensive information, advice and guidance centre based in the Centre helps adults think through their choices and to be clear about the links between the courses offered by the centre and opportunities available in the local labour market. Engagement 167. Although there are many people who want to be involved in learning, but are frustrated by the various obstacles they encounter, there are also many residents of disadvantaged areas who say they do not want to learn or are even actively hostile to the idea(23). 168. People who fall into this group are unlikely to be persuaded to engage in learning by arguments related to vocational skills or qualifications, by which they usually set little store. Previous experience of poorly organised and targeted Government "schemes" has engendered a good deal of cynicism. 169. We believe the best ways of overcoming cynicism and of involving such adults in learning, are to pro-actively seek to engage them in learning through the right kind of intermediary. For this audience, it is not enough for educational providers simply to advertise what they have to offer and wait for people to turn up. More imaginative strategies are required. 170. During our fieldwork, we saw excellent examples of community workers who had succeeded over time in winning the trust of local people, helping them build up their confidence and encouraging them to reflect on how they might benefit from learning (see "Ascent 21" box). Such work must not be simply a "front-end" for learning provision; it is more of a half-way house between more conventional educational guidance and established advisory services that people trust like, for example, Citizens' Advice Bureaux. Ascent 21 is a small outreach/brokerage project operating from shop premises in a small parade on the ground floor of a large block of flats on the Haggerston estate in Hackney. Through "constructive loitering" at school gates and wherever people congregate the project worker has gained the confidence of the local community and helps them to think through their approach to employment and learning. She emphasises that success is dependent on a long lead-time which allows her to build relationships that enable the introduction of questions in a non-threatening or inquisitorial way. The other end of the project is building a trusting relationship with London Underground. The project explored all of LU's recruitment practices - criteria, timetable, tests used, interview procedures, etc.. The project then offers local people the opportunity to prepare for the applications, the tests, and for interviews to follow. The project is strict about standards and LU are reassured they will only send them people it's worth looking at. Support even stretches to ensuring people know how to get to the test centre on time. Ascent 21 have got very impressive results at good starting salaries (£17,000 p.a - which takes them right out of the benefit trap) - and even those who didn't get jobs with LU got jobs elsewhere. An additional spin-off benefit is that people employed by LU get free uniforms and free dry-cleaning vouchers. All Haggerston estate people take these to the local dry-cleaners (in the same parade of shops as Ascent 21) which is run by a local Turkish family - so their business is thriving. First-rung provision "[There needs to be] a higher emphasis on developing skills which are fun: so often people in poverty are urged to do "worthy" "improving" things which they don't want to, instead of the kinds of enjoyable things that wealthier people often opt for. Interfacing with "the state" is so rarely a good experience for adults in poverty." (Website comment) 171. Just as the location where learning is available can be intimidating to people who have done little of it since leaving school, the very idea of "learning" or "education" can also be off -putting. People are very ready to assume that it is not for them or that it has little relevance to their lives. Those ideas can be reinforced where provision looks too formal, too "scary" or too academic. The complexity of the qualifications system, which many do not understand, does not help. For different reasons, because admitting to poor literacy skills carries a significant stigma, it can be difficult to persuade people to enrol on courses which describe their object too explicitly as improving "basic skills". "any training and learning offered in these areas should be sensitive to [the local] culture, and novel ways devised of presenting learning. Formally organised provision will be seen as similar in nature to the learning they rejected at school…" (Website comment) 172. The kind of learning that is on offer can therefore have a critical effect on whether people who are not learners are willing to give it a try. Among the approaches that work best are those where learning is organised around activities that are familiar and enjoyable and which engage people's interests; or where adults can see in the learning that is on offer an obvious benefit that they can apply in their daily lives. "There should be consciousness of the potential value to people of short modular DIY/budget cookery and other money-saving schemes, complete with the necessary equipment and materials" (Website comment) 173. Activities that can work well in this connection include art, sport and other leisure pursuits, activities connected with childcare and information technology. 174. We came across many examples in our fieldwork where participation in such activities led to improvements in self-confidence for individuals so that they were willing, with time, to tackle more challenging learning. The box on Pride House in Peterlee gives details of one such concrete example. Pride House Pride House is a small community centre located in an ordinary council house in Eden Hill, Peterlee's most disadvantaged estate. It was originally set up by the police as a community project to help prevent youth disaffection and crime, though it has since branched out in other directions. A group of local women had become involved in the centre over time, because their children used it for social activities. When planning an outing to the seaside for young people connected with Pride House, the women discovered that they would need some formal health and safety and first aid training, which was delivered on a one-off basis by the local college in Pride House itself. The women enjoyed their course so much that it led them all into further learning. Three of them, who before their involvement with the centre had had no qualifications, now have university degrees - and still live in Eden Hill. Qualifications and participation 175. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little public financial support in recent years for such informal, unaccredited provision. Public policy has concentrated strongly on providing education and training which leads to qualifications or to some other readily measurable outcome. The most important change occurred with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, which had the effect of prioritising provision in the formal further education sector which led to academic or vocational qualifications. 176. Attaining qualifications is an important aim, for people in socially disadvantaged areas as for others. Qualifications are an important commodity in the labour market and possessing them can in itself be a source of pride to people and help to reinforce their confidence and motivation. 177. The argument is not that pursuing qualifications is itself wrong, but rather that their acquisition has been given undue weight in recent years and that this has squeezed out less formal provision. 178. Many feel that this has led to a significant mismatch between the provision that is available and what is actually needed. The effects have been felt most strongly in socially disadvantaged areas where people may not have been involved in learning for a considerable period and where the arguments are strongest for the provision of intermediate stages between non-participation and formal, accredited courses. 179. In particular, as already discussed. it has meant that there is not enough appropriate "first-rung" provision of the kind that is most likely to engage socially disadvantaged people and to help them take the first steps back into learning and the labour market Priorities 180. A frequent complaint we heard during our fieldwork visits was that public sector organisations whose job it is to provide education and training for adults locally - the local college, the Training and Enterprise Council or other providers - did not treat the needs of socially disadvantaged areas - or of individuals from these areas - as a priority. In other areas, we were told that these same agencies were too remote to understand the needs of local people properly. 181. It is obviously very difficult to evaluate these claims fairly. Institutions operate in a complex environment where their decisions about priorities are strongly influenced by a wide variety of pressures, which include the priorities of central Government itself, as well as the funding methodologies which determine how resources are distributed. 182. Nevertheless, it seems clear that a number of problems stem from the fact that it is not the explicit role of any local agency to ensure that the right kind of learning opportunities are available to socially disadvantaged people in their area. Some colleges - and some TECs - strive to treat the needs of socially disadvantaged people as a central part of their mission. But this has been in many ways a matter of choice. Responsibility for planning what provision should be available locally lies under the current system with the Further Education Funding Council in Coventry, which is arguably too distant to make sensible decisions about the kind of provision best calculated to engage adults in learning in particular localities. We saw some of the consequences of this in Hemsworth, where it did not seem to be anyone's job to ensure that the local site of the district's FE college offered a curriculum likely to appeal to young males; and in Peterlee, where we were told that the local college could not secure any public resources to support a course to train people to work in call centres - a boom industry locally - but had no difficulty in attracting funding for courses in mining engineering, which are hardly in demand in this ex-coalfield area.. 183. The new structural arrangements announced in the Learning to Succeed White Paper are intended in part to address these problems. Our fieldwork suggests that among the key priorities for the new institutions should be ensuring that planning decisions are effectively made much closer to the local level than now; and that it should be an important part of the remit of the new institutions to ensure that the particular needs of socially disadvantaged areas are met effectively. Coherence 184. Another point frequently made during our consultations was that local organisations in the education and training field did not always co-operate well together, in part because their responsibilities overlapped or were unclear and in part because - in the case of for example FE colleges - tariff-based funding systems had encouraged them to compete for students. 185. Local capacity is weak because: high concentrations of people with poor basic skills, low motivation and little experience of regular, paid work mean that the human capital resources and motivation to run organisations in disadvantaged areas are limited 186. Despite these difficulties, voluntary and community organisations play an extremely effective role in many areas in helping people improve their skills, often as intermediaries for much larger providers. Their effectiveness is significantly hampered by the funding and regulatory environment in the public sector, which is not well adapted to the needs of small organisations. 187. People feel they have nothing to gain from improving their skills because: in some areas, there are deep-seated cultural attitudes - often with specific historical roots - which lead people to discount the benefits of learning. While people may acknowledge these benefits in the abstract, they often think that learning is "not for them" - or lack the confidence to take part in it. There is a specific aspect of this general problem in that over time, such attitudes can lead to a culture which lacks enterprise and an appreciation of the potential of enterprise; physical and psychological isolation, combined with little experience of regular, paid employment, means that people do not feel a sense of connection with the labour market; the benefit system and fear of losing benefit can act as powerful disincentives to engage in learning; some employers, typically SMEs, give a low priority to the training and development of their own workforce and there are few opportunities for people in low-paid employment to train independently of their employer. Some employers consciously or unconsciously also engage in recruitment practices that are perverse, unfair or discriminatory, particularly towards members of ethnic minority communities but also towards the residents of particular areas. Taken together, these factors have a significant "backwash" effect on people's attitude to learning. They send the message that improving their skills will have little practical effect in improving their prospects in the labour market. Notes 23. See, for example, Widening Participation in inner-city estates, Further Education Development Agency, 1999

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